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Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Archives for February 2008

Secrets to perfect bread

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Thinking of baking bread? It’s not as complicated as you may fear. Here are some tried and tested tips to getting that perfect golden loaf.

1. Place a small dish of water in the oven when you bake bread. This prevents the crust from becoming a dark, ugly brown or getting too hard.
2. Grease pans with shortening. Unlike butter or margarine, the batter won’t absorb it.
3. After you’ve baked the bread, rub the crust with shortening so they won’t become hard.
4. Control your water temperature. If it’s too hot it’ll kill the yeast. Check the temperature on your forearm.
5. Sift the flour.
6. If you use a gas pan, lower the prescribed temperature by 25 degrees.

Get great bread recipes from readers from around the world at All Recipes

5,000 cooking tips

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Get 5,000 tips and shortcuts with Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks The tips are organized alphabetically, from “Acidity” to “Zucchini” with every entry broken into “Basics,” with “Problem Solvers,” “Time Savers,” “Flavor Tips” and “Healthy Hints.” There are also some recipes, with more difficult techniques broken down into illustrated step-by-steps.

This book is a wonderful gift for a new bride just learning how to cook for her family, though even seasoned kitchen godesses can pick up handy shortcuts and tips.

How to make homemade pizza — fast!

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Make your own homemade pizza doughwith a few common ingredients. It doesn’t take that long with instant yeast, so you can (as the host of the video says) wake up with a pizza craving in the morning, and have the dish ready by lunch. What we like about this instructional video is that you can see how to knead the dough, and includes several tips on how to save time, or get that extra chewy texture.

Make your own dogfood

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Make your own dogfood with an excellent instructional video that includes tips on the nutritional needs of your canine and natural food sources. You may be surprised to find that your dog needs fruit, and will happily devour mangoes, apples, and carrots. The expert also suggests special ingredients you may want to introduce when your pet is sick or weak.

Biggest beef recall in history

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Now would be a good time to switch to salads.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday has just ordered the country’s biggest beef recall in history — 143 million pounds — all from a California slaughterhouse. And worst of all, this slaughterhouse is one of the suppliesr of meat for school lunch programs.

The slaughterhouse violated health regulations when they did not call the vet when the cows became “non ambulatory.” It was also found that workers kicked, yelled and generally abused the animals.

Cooking, CG style

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if you love cooking, and the movie Ratatouille, you’ll love this interview. Disney’s experts talk about how they brought food to the big screen — the hours they spent just watching how sauces bubble on the stove, and how to translate something like smell into a visual cue.

Aphrodite’s Love Potion

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You know that after-date pick up line: “Want to have a drink at my place?” We certainly hope that you don’t mean a diet coke. Here is a simple recipe:

4 ice cubes
1 1/2 ounces fine brandy
5 ounces pineapple juice
1 maraschino cherry
1 thin orange slice

Combine the ice cubes, brandy and pineapple juice and stir. Garnish with cherry and orange slice. Really simple, even if you’ve got a bare liquor cabinet. For more elaborate drinks, you can visit here

Surprising Aphrodisiacs

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You probably know that chocolate and oysters are aphrodisiacs (though we wouldn’t recommend serving them in the same dish). Here are some other ingredients believed to have certain “romantic powers.”

Carrots. Used by Middle Eastern Royalty. Probably only because of its, uhm, shape.

Coffee. It’s a stimulant but only in small amounts. Serve dark coffee in demitasse cups. Perfect for your “all-nighter”.

Coriander (Cilantro seed). Thought to stimulate “appetite.”

Fennel. Contains loads of estrogens and was used by Egyptians to lift libido.

Figs. Its shape was suggestive of the female organs — possibly why in the Middle East it was considered very erotic for a man to break open a fig and eating it in front of his lover. (Doesn’t quite have the same effect when it’s in Newtons.)

Garlic. So hot that it makes you…hot. Just brush your teeth before you try anything.

Ginger. What the heck, you’ve got the garlic, might as well do a full saute.

Honey. Egyptians used this to cure sterility. In fact, it was used by the Middle ages to seduce frightened brides into the bed. Hence the word “honeymoon.”

Trip to the Orient

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Oriental cuisine puts a lot of emphasis on presentation. In the East, meals are spiritual acts: as you take in the nourishment from Nature, you become one with it. That harmony must be reflected in the way the food is served.

Luckily food aesthetics is pretty easy to achieve . Invest in high quality plates and chopsticks. You can also get simple cooking tips from Ming Tsai’s cookbook. Even if you’ve never handled a wok in your life, you’ll be impressing guests with your Eastern flair in no time.

Celebrity chefs

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If you’re a serious foodie, you probably spend a good deal of time scouring through recipe books. But here’s a tip: watch the television chefs. Yes, they have good recipes. But most importantly, seeing them cook revels a lot of good tips, from how to check the temperature of a pan and the “visual” signs that your porkchops about to get overcooked.

Valentine’s School Party

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Many schools throw Valentine’s parties — and who bakes the cookies? Mom, of course! Here is a simple recipe for iced cookies. Use your cookie cutter to make any shape you want… but include a few hearts to commemorate the day! Your child can also write his friends’ names in frosting for a personalized touch.

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

What’s Next

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 inch thickness, refrigerating remaining dough until ready to use. Cut into desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Leave cookies plain for frosting, or brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with candy sprinkles or colored sugar.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

Black and White Chocolate Fondue

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A romantic dessert with many (nudge, nudge) possibilities.

Ingredients
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
10 oz (280 g). semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp (30 mL) Grand Marnier, Kahlua or other liqueur
2 oz (56 g). white chocolate, chopped
things to dip: fresh strawberries, sliced bananas, orange segments, cubed pound or sponge cake, biscotti, cookies

What’s Next:

Pour the whipping cream into a small saucepan and place over medium heat.
Bring cream just to a simmer, then remove from heat. Add the semisweet chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the liqueur. Transfer mixture to a small ceramic fondue pot over a tea light candle. Sprinkle the chopped white chocolate over the dark chocolate mixture, let stand for a minute or two to allow it to melt, then gently run a spoon through two or three times, just until marbled. Serve with an assortment of fresh fruits and cookies.

Fish Tacos

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Here’s a sneaky way to get your kids to eat fish! Serve with salsa or guacamole. Yum!

Ingredients
1 quart vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup beer (not dark)
1 pound cod fillet, cut into 3- by 1-inch strips
Shredded lettuce
Sour Cream
Avocado slices
Chopped or sliced radish
Red or green salsa
Lime wedges

What’s Next

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Heat 1 inch oil in a 10-inch heavy pot (2 to 3 inches deep) over moderate heat until a deep-fat thermometer registers 360 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile, separate tortillas and make 2 stacks of 6. Wrap each stack in foil and heat in oven 12 to 15 minutes.
3. While tortillas warm, stir together flour and salt in a large bowl, then stir in beer (batter will be thick). Gently stir fish into batter to coat. Lift each piece of fish out of batter, wiping any excess off on side of bowl, and fry fish in batches, turning once or twice, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
4. Increase oil temperature to 375 degrees F and refry fish in batches, turning once or twice, until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
5. Assemble tacos with warm tortillas, fish, and accompaniments.

World’s Biggest Chocolate Heart

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The Guiness Record for the biggest chocolate heart: this 7-metric-ton chocolate heart that was unveiled in Madrid on Valentine’s Day. It was designed by artist Lluis Morera, produced by Spain’s largest chocolate manufacturer (Chocovic) and commissioned by Match.com, an online dating site.